A new survey of Massachusetts from Public Policy Polling (D) finds Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who won a tremendous upset victory in last January’s special election to succeed the late Democratic icon Ted Kennedy, to be in good shape heading into his 2012 re-election bid.
Brown is in front of a number of hypothetical Democratic opponents. He leads Rep. Mike Capuano, who had previously lost the Democratic primary in that special election, by 52%-36%. Brown leads Rep. Stephen Lynch by 49%-30%, leads Rep. Ed Markey by 49%-39%, and leads Gov. Deval Patrick by 49%-42%. In addition, Brown leads Vicki Kennedy, the widow of Ted Kennedy, by 48%-41%.
Brown’s approval rating is 53%, to only 29% disapproval.
From the pollster’s analysis: “In a sign of how moderate and mainstream Brown’s image is, 53% say his views are “about right,” something only 32% say of the GOP as a whole. Likewise, 52% think the Republicans too conservative, but only a third say that of Brown. Even 35% of Democrats see Brown’s ideology as acceptable, though half do think him too far right.”
